Envelope machine



March 21, 1939. RQLOFF 2,151,665

ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 21, 1939.

A. L. ROLOFF ENVELOPE MACHINE Filed Jan. 3, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ENVELOPE MACHI NE Filed Jan. 5, 1938 s Sheets-Sheet 3 III Patented Mar. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES ENVELOPE MACHINE Arthur L. Roloif, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Garden City Envelope 00., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application January 3, 1938, Serial No. 182,968

5 Claims.

My invention relates to envelope machines. For certain purposes, ithas been found desirable to provide envelopes with a binding strip which can readily be bound in with the pages of a magazine, or the like, and in which the envelope itself can be readily detached from the magazine and mailed to an address which may be already provided on the envelope. This use of envelopes make necessary a binding strip, by means of which the envelope may be secured in the magazine, from which binding strip the envelope is torn off for mailing purposes, leaving the binding strip in the magazine, a. weakened line generally being provided between this binding strip and the envelope proper. This type of envelope has created a problem in production.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved apparatus for making such an envelope.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and claims.

In the drawings, in which an embodiment of my invention is shown,

Figure 1 is a plan view showing successive steps in the formation of an envelope as it passes through my improved apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view showing diagrammatically the apparatus used in performing the steps shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, sectional, elevational view showing diagrammatically the rear end of the machine;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing the gripper removing the envelopes from the conveyor;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of parts of Fig. 4 showing the gripper removing the envelope from the conveyor;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing the perforating and shearing cutters;

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a view showing the finished envelope secured in place on a magazine page.

Before describing the apparatus, I will briefly describe the em elope. formed by the apparatus. The blank from which this envelope is formed is shown at stage A in Figs. 1, 2, and 5 and comprises a rectangular central portion l bounded by scored and perforated lines 2 and 3, as indicated, a side edge flap 4 which is finally folded over as shown at stage D, Fig. 1, a bottom edge flap 5 which is finally folded over and secured to the gummed parts 8, stage F, on the envelope, as indicated at stage G, a closing flap I having a gummed part 8 for sealing the envelope, all of said flaps extending from said rectangular central portion I, a binding strip 9 extending laterally from the central portion I and the closing flap 1 to provide a strip which may be secured to the edge of the magazine page 10, as shown in 5 Fig. 9, and a wing portion H extending laterally from the binding strip portion. This wing portion II is sheared off at stage E, in Fig. 1, from the envelope proper and discarded after it has served its purpose of providing an edge in feed- 10 ing the envelope through the apparatus. This shearing-off step is performed at the same time that the weakened or perforated line 3 is formed in the envelope. This weakened line enables the envelope to be readily detached from the binding strip 9 when it is desired to mail the envelope.

The wing portion H, which I have described as finally sheared off from the envelope proper after it has served its purpose, provides a shoulder portion l2 which cooperates with an aligning pin I3 (Figs. 1 and 2, stage B) on the conveyor It, the side edge flap 4 also providing a shoulder l5 which cooperates with an opposed aligning pin l3 on the conveyor, so that by means of these two shoulder portions 12 and [5 the aligning pins I3 on the chain conveyor can properly engage the envelope to feed it to the creasing rolls l6 (Figs.

1 and 2, stage C), which form the creases 2 bounding the rectangular central portion l of the envelope blank. This wing portion II also provides an extension which cooperates with the gripping clips IT on the conveyor chain I8 (Figs.

4 and 5), the clips ll of one of the chains l8 gripping the rear edges of the wing portions II, respectively, and the gripping clips I! of the opposite chain l8 engaging the rear edges of the side flaps 4.

As the envelopes are carried along by the conveyor chains l8, they pass up over the roller l9 (Figs. 3 and 4) and are delivered to the gripping rollers 20 (Fig. 2, stage A), which are rotating at a relatively high speed so that these gripping rollers will seize the envelopes successively as they are fed thereto by the conveyor chains l8 and will move the envelopes forward at such a rapid rate that they will be'taken away from the gripping clips IT on the chains, as shown in Fig.

4, and will be fed to the creasing rolls l6. The passage of the chains I8 around the sprockets 2| causes the clips ii to release the envelopes to enable them to be readily removed by the gripping rolls 2D. The gripping rolls feed the envelopes into position where they can be engaged by the aligning pins l3 on the conveyor l4 (Figs. 1 and 2, stage B). These aligning pins straighten up the envelope if it is out of alignment and feed it to the creasing rolls 18 (stage C). From the creasing rolls,the envelopes are fed to the plowshare" 22 (Figs. 1 and 2, stage D), which folds over the side edge flap 4 and presses it down onto the rectangular central portion I. From this "plowshare" folder 22 the envelopes are fed to stage I (Figs. 1 and 2) where the feed rollers 28 and 24 (Fig. 8) carry the envelopes between the overlapping rotating cutters 28 and 28. These cutters 28 and 28 shear of! the wing portion ii which has now served its purpose. At the same 'time the envelope is being carried underneath a perforating cutter 21 which cooperates with a platen roller 28 to the weakened line 8 in the envelope blank so that when the binding strip 8 is secured to the magazine page II, the envelope proper can be readily detached, leaving the binding strip 8 in the magazine. After the wing portion II has been sheared off and the weakened line 8 formed between the binding strip 8 and the body of the envelope, the blank is passed beneath glue-applying rollers 28 which apply adhesive to the envelope blank, as indicated at 8 (Figs. 1 and 2, stage 1''). Thereafter the blanks are fed to the flap-folding apparatus (Figs. 1 and 2, stage G), which folds the bottom flap I over on top of the gummed portions 8 of the envelope so that the envelope flnally appears as shown at the right hand of Fig. 1. The envelope is now ready to be stitched in or otherwise secured in position in the magazine.

It will be noted that the provision of the wing portion II, which is sheared of! after it has served its purpose, enables the envelope blanks to be handled by the chain conveyor l8 and by thealigningpins I8sothattheblankscanbe used in a continuous rotary type envelope machine. No claim is made to any novelty in the aligning pin conveyor I4 and the chain clip conveyor 18 per se, or in the summing and folding mechanism per se, as specific apparatus of the general type shown in Patent Nos. 1,396,906; 1,784,742; 1,807,863; 1,807,867, and 1,827,539.

Referring more in detail to the shearing and perforating part of the apparatus shown in Figs. 8, 7, and 8, this comprises a pair of parallel spaced shafts 88 and 8i geared together by means of spur gears 82 and 88 and driven in any suitable manner at proper speed, the feed rolls 28 and 28 for feeding the envelopes through the shearing and perforating apparatus, the shearing disc 28 rotatable with the lower shaft 81, the shearing disc 25 rotatable with the upper shaft and pressed to'the left by means of a plurality of coil compression springs 84 so that its lower edge will have a good shearing contact with the lower shearing disc 28, the perforating disc 21 rotatable with the upper shaft 88, and the platen roller 28 toward which the lower edge of the perforating disc 21 is urged (the perforating being done by the cooperation of the edge of the perforating disc 21 with the opposed platen 28), and a pair of aligning discs 88 and 88, the lower one 85 being mounted on the lower shaft II and having a groove 81 into which the outer edge of the upper disc 88 fits nicely, and this upper disc being secured to rotate with, the upper shaft 88. It will be seen that these two discs will hold the two shafts against relative endwise play so that the proper alignment of the upper shearing disc 28 and the perforating wheel 21 with respect to the lower shearing disc 28 and platen 28 is preserved.

The shearing disc 28 may be held in properly adjusted position on the threaded sleeve 88, which is securedto rotate with the upper shaft, by means of a pair of nuts 88 and 48 threaded on this sleeve 88, these nuts being secured in the desired adjusted position by means of set screws 41 which are threaded in the lock nuts and the tips of which may engage the threaded sleeve 88. The coil compression springs 84 which hold the upper shearing disc against the lower shearing disc may be seated in suitable pockets in the nut 89. In a similar manner the perforating disc 21 is held in any desired position of axial adjustment on the threaded sleeve 88 by means of nuts 42 and 48, which may be secured in position by means of set screws 41.

In order to direct the sheared-off wing ii downwardly so that it will not get caught in the machinery, a deflecting guide 44 (Fig. 2) may be provided which will engage the upper side of the wing portion Ii as itis sheared off and direct it downwardly out of the way. In order to secure the proper contact between the perforating cutter 21 and its cooperating platen 28, the cutter is made so that it can have a slight floating movement with respect to the sleeve 88 on which it is mounted, the construction being such that the perforating edge 48 will be urged frictionally toward the cooperating platen 28 to secure Just the right degree of pressure between the perforating edge and the platen. The perforating edge may be serrated, as shown in Fig. 8, to secure the proper perforating effect on the envelope. This floating action of the cutter 21 is secured by making the opening 48 in the cutter slightly larger in diameter than the outside diameter of the threaded sleeve 88 and providing a slip friction drive for the perforating cutter. This slip friction drive is effected by means of a washer 41 of suitable material, such as leather, or the like, and a second washer 48, which may be of any suitable material, such as brass, located between this leather washer 41 and the face of the perforating disc 21. The lock nuts 42 and 48 are so adjusted that the leather washer 41 will cause the desired degree of pressure to be exerted by the brass washer 48 on the perforating disc 21. As the envelope passes between the platen 28 and the perforating cutter 21, it will tend to force the perforating cutter 21 upwardly slightly so that the cutter will be eccentric with respect to the axis of the rotating shaft 88. This eccentricity will cause the serrated edge 45 of the perforating cutter to become eccentric with respect to the axis of the shaft 88. Thus, the distance of the upper edge of the perforating disc 21 from the exis of the shaft 88 will tend to be greater than the distance of the lower edge of the perforating disc from the axis of the shaft. As the perforating disc rotates, portions of the perforating edge, gradually increasing in distance from the axis of the shaft, will be rotating toward the point of contact between the perforating edge 48 and the envelope and this will cause a constant shifting of the perforating disc 21 with respect to the axis of the shaft 88 on which it is mounted. The large opening in the perforating disc 21 and the frictional mounting effected by thewashers 4'1 and 48 enable this shifting of the perforating disc with respect to its axis. By properly tensioning the friction disc, just the required degree of pressure of the perforating disc on the envelope may be secured.

In order to guide the envelope in its movement between the shearing discs 25 and-28 and underneath the perforating cutter 21, a suitable guide wire 48 may be provided, the lower portion of which engages the upper face ofthe envelope as it travels.

It will be seen that by the. use of my improved blank and the apparatus cooperating therewith envelopes of the type desired to be detachably secured in a magazine may be produced by a continuous method involving the use of rotary creasing wheels, rotary cutting and perforating discs, and rotary gum-applying apparatus.

In the claims, where I have used the word mutilate, it is to be understood as being broad enough to cover shearing, cutting, perforating, and the like.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An envelope machine for forming an envelope from a blank, which blank comprises a rectangular central portion, a side edge flap, a bottom edge flap, and a closing flap, all of said flaps extending from said central portion, a binding strip extending laterally from said central portion and closing flap, and a wing portion extending laterally from said binding strip, said machine comprising conveyor means for the blanks engaging said side edge flap and said wing portion, means for folding said side edge fiap onto said central portion, and means for forming a weakened line between said central portion and said binding strip.

2. An envelope machine for forming an envelope from a blank, which blank comprises a rectangular central portion, a side edge flap, a bottom edge flap, and a closing flap, all of said flaps extending from said central portion, a binding strip extending laterally from said central portion and closing flap, and a wing portion extending laterally from said binding strip, said machine comprising conveyor means for the blanks engaging said side edge flap and said wing portion, means for folding said side edge flap onto said central portion, means for forming a weakened line between said central portion and said binding strip, and means for severing said wing portion from said binding strip.

3. An envelope machine for forming an envelope from a blank, which blank comprises a rectangular central portion, a side edge flap, a bottom edge flap, and a closing flap, all of said flaps extending from said central portion}, a binding strip extending laterally from said central portion and closing flap, and a wing portion extending laterally from said binding strip,

said machine comprising conveyor means for the blanks engaging said side edge flap and said wing portion, means for folding said side edge flap onto said central portion, and rotatable means for forming a weakened line between said central portion and said binding strip.

4. An envelope machine for forming an envelope from a blank, which blank comprises a rectangular central portion, a side edge flap, a bottom edge flap, and a closing flap, all of said flaps extending from said central portion, a binding strip extending laterally from said central portion and closing flap, and a wing portion extending laterally from said binding strip, said machine comprising conveyor means for the blanks engaging said side edge flap and said wing portion, means for folding said side edge flap onto said central portion, rotatable means for forming a weakened line between said central portion and said binding strip, and rotatable means coaxial with said first rotatable means for severing said wing portion from said binding strip.

5. An envelope machine for forming an envelope from a blank, which blank comprises a rectangular central portion, a side edge flap, a bottom edge flap, and a closing flap, all of said flaps extending from said central portion, a binding strip extending laterally from said central portion and closing flap, and a wing portion extending laterally from said binding strip, said machine comprising conveyor means for the blanks engaging said side edge flap and said wing portion, means for folding said side edge flap onto said central portion, and means for forming a weakened line between said central portion and said binding strip comprising a rotor having a circular sheet-mutilating' edge, a rotor having a circular platen edge cooperating with said mutilating edge, a rotatable shaft, one of said rotors being mounted on said shaft for a limited radial movement with respect to said shaft, and friction means for resisting said radial movement.

ARTHUR L. ROLOFF. 

